Moore Foundation supports transparency in fisheries management with 2-year grant

Berlin/Victoria – 16 July 2019. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation announced today their support for the FiTI to increase transparency in fisheries management in Africa and Latin America.

Of the many interventions needed to improve fisheries management and seafood sustainability, the public availability of fundamental, credible data about how the resource is exploited is essential for better decision-making by and accountability of governing bodies, as well as for a level playing field for the companies that are catching and selling fish for commercial gain. Right now, too much basic information about a public resource is kept out of the public domain. Not enough governments are disclosing information about relevant laws, subsidies and permitting, and not enough companies are reliably reporting on catch volumes and fishing practices. Data that is publicly available is too often incomplete, old, unverified, and or inaccessible to the public, making it far too easy for government agencies and fishing companies to exploit loopholes and operate illegally.

Under these conditions, even “good” actors find it difficult to compete, and market incentives (e.g., certifications) alone don’t seem to be compensating. Greater public scrutiny about economic, environmental and social impacts is a pre-requisite for more sustainable wild capture fisheries and to reduce the negative impacts of IUU fishing, fleet overcapacity, overfishing, ill-advised subsidies, corruption, and what is considered by some to be unjust fisheries management decisions.

“We are extremly thankful to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for their support and for acknowledging that the FiTI will only become the envisioned game changer in oceans governance if the number of countries that adopt and implement the FiTI Standard continuously grows over the upcoming years”, said Mr. Sven Biermann, Director of the FiTI International Secretariat.

The purpose of this two-year grant ($779,000) is twofold:

1. Extending further the global level playing field of transparency in fisheries management and increasing FiTI’s membership base;
2. Stimulating national and global debates about transparency and multi-stakeholder participation as underlying principles of good oceans governance.

For more information on the grant, please read here.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation fosters path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the Bay Area. Visit moore.org and follow @MooreFund.